


Red-Headed Creation Myth

by BuzzCat



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: (for like two seconds in the beginning), Aliens, Angst, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Mermaids, hurt/comfort fits here I think, roll with me on this one, they find each other and it's comfort, they lose each other and it hurts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-25
Updated: 2016-06-25
Packaged: 2018-07-18 02:26:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7295815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BuzzCat/pseuds/BuzzCat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor lost Donna years ago,  forced to watch her drown and unable to help her. Now, what is for him ten years later, he finds himself drowning as well. Of course, when he feels cool hands on his cheeks and soft lips pressed to his, his understanding of the ocean undergoes a sudden shift.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Red-Headed Creation Myth

The Doctor clung to the railing of the ship. He had to be here, he knew he did. He had only popped into the port city to restock his tea, that had been it. Of course, when he found out that there were murders, he'd been intrigued. When the victims were all old crew from the same ship, he'd been hooked. When that ship set sail and he was on it, the Doctor was less enthused. Time Lords weren't overly fond of water to begin with, not even touching on that last time...

The Doctor had always tried not to think about that. Her. Donna. The last time he'd been on a ship, he'd been with Donna. It was the one time there were no aliens, no crises. Just them. The Doctor sighed and let himself, just this once, remember.

They'd sailed on _Poseidon’s Trident_ , Donna laughing at him with her vibrant hair blowing in the wind. He didn't remember what he'd done or said to make her laugh. He didn't care. The sailors had grumbled now and again about how it was bad luck to have a woman aboard. The Doctor had ignored them and his own misgivings for water. It made Donna happy, so it was worth it.

One night—the only night that whole trip he'd actually slept; why that night?—he’d woken up to hear shouts on deck. Loud shouting, particularly from a particular voice.

"Donna," he had breathed. The Doctor shot out of bed and ran up on deck, clad in his pinstripe pajamas. When he hit the deck, he was horrified at what he saw. What earlier been a light rain had become a torrential downpour, wind snapping the sails and there in the middle of it all was Donna, tied up with hair plastered to her wet face and shouting for all she was worth,

"DONNA!" The Doctor had shouted, but the wind snatched his voice away. Waves rose up from the sea, sending the ship pitching. The Doctor struggled to keep his footing, grabbing onto the railing for support. Donna didn't have the freedom to move her feet for balance. She stumbled and tried her best to find her feet, but when the ship suddenly pitched, Donna fell over the side. The Doctor battled the wind and rain to reach the place she'd gone over, but one of the burlier sailors had grabbed the back of his shirt, shouting,

"That witch is well dead! Don't follow her!" The Doctor had ignored him, screaming,

"DONNA!" He tried again to jump, but felt more and more hands holding him back. They'd dragged him away as he screamed himself hoarse. Donna never surfaced. The Doctor had watched as the storm calmed and the sailors congratulated themselves on a job well done of getting rid of the witch. The Doctor had watched them only a moment before he felt it welling up in him. The power. The rage. The Oncoming Storm. He'd stepped amidst their drinking and laughter and—stopped. There was nothing, nothing he could do. When he first met Donna, she'd stopped him. He couldn't start killing as soon as she was gone. The Doctor turned and walked to the cargo hold, throwing open the doors of the TARDIS when he reached her water-specked blue form. She had hummed questioningly at him. The Doctor shook his head,

"She's gone. And we can't go get her." He put his hand on the TARDIS’s door and leaned against her. Donna was gone.

And he was back on a ship, without Donna.

 

The Doctor discreetly wiped at his eyes as he looked out onto the ocean, so much calmer than it had been that night. He hadn't noticed that the setting sun had disappeared completely as he was now plunged into darkness, a full moon and stars above reflecting in the ocean. An older, nervous sailor tapped his shoulder,

"You'll want to step away from the edge, lad. There be mermaids through here."

"I doubt that," said the Doctor. The sailor nodded his head, eyes widening,

"It's true. Right after sunset on full moon nights, that's when they come out. They sing and that's when you're done for. They lure you down and then they drown and eat you," said the sailor in hushed tones. Another sailor called from the opposite end of the boat,

"But first they have their way with you. That don't make it such a bad way to go."

"Quiet, fool," whispered the first sailor as loud as he dared, "they'll hear you."

"Oh, I think we're safe," said the Doctor, peering over the side of the boat. He'd never seen proof of mermaids here or on any other planet. Sometimes myths were just myths. The first sailor turned to him,

"Say, what'd you say your name was?"

"Oh, I'm the Doctor, pleasure to meet you." He held out his hand. The sailor warily took it, shaking it as he said,

"Aye, that's a title. But what's your name?"

"That is my name," said the Doctor. Why did people insist on questioning that? The sailor’s eyes glazed over. His expression emptied until there was no personality, no real humanity left in his face. He shouted in a toneless voice, "CODE BLUE BOX! CODE BLUE BOX! CODE BLUE BOX!" The sailor kept shouting until every crew member was on deck and staring at the Doctor. They quickly descended on him and try as the Doctor did, he couldn't fight them off. Soon he was tied at the wrist and ankle. The crew members led him to stand at attention outside an ornate door. A man he presumed to be the captain came out with a smile,

"'Blue box,' you say? Well," he walked forward until he was just a few yards from the Doctor, "this is my lucky day."

"Yes, it's me, I'm the Doctor. Hello!" said the Doctor, waving as best he could, "who are you?" His mind ran wild. The TARDIS was too far below deck to reach, which meant he had to deal with this first. After his morning reminiscence, the Doctor simply wasn't in the mood to be benevolent. In fact, he was well prepared to smash a few things. The captain grinned,

"We are Aquators."

"Oh, Aquators! Water pilgrims! But what are you doing here?"

"It doesn't matter, because soon you'll be dead. Explorers!" The sailors nearest the Doctor picked him up, knocking the sonic screwdriver out of his hands. The Doctor shouted,

"Now, you don't want to be doing that." The captain stepped forward, grabbing the Doctor's lapels and pulling him in until the Doctor could see every rotten tooth in the captain's smile as he said,

"No, I really think I do." Without further monologue—the Doctor had to give him credit, he certainly knew how to keep a shipshape schedule—the captain threw the Doctor off the boat.

 

The Doctor landed in the ocean, sinking and sinking. The ropes were tight, too tight for him to slip. He felt his breath burning in his lungs as they tried to extract oxygen that wasn't there. His respiratory bypass kicked in, which made the Doctor cough out his last bit of air. Of all the ways for a Time Lord to die, this was the worst. Seriously, who drowned anymore? He felt just the slitest bit of regeneration energy tingling at his fingertips. Regenerating underwater was not good. He'd just keep regenerating until he burned through them all and actually died and oh, this was stupid, this was pathetic, this was—

—what Donna had felt.

That single thought made the Doctor stop struggling. Donna...He closed his eyes and willed the energy to go through him. His time had come. His time to die. No more lives to save—or ruin, depending upon your perspective. He regretted ruining so many lives in the name of saving so many more. Of the many things in his long life, the Doctor regretted so much. It was time to be done.

A wrench was somewhat thrown into that plan when he felt soft lips blowing air into his lungs. His eyes shot open to see two very blue eyes staring back at him. Black hair formed a massive cloud around the face of his rescuer, but through a gap in the inky mess he saw her body, which ended in a deep purple tail.

 

The Doctor's bonds were cut by the mermaid with a sharp rock. He attempted to swin but the mermaid stopped his churning arms. The Doctor glared at her but she pointed up, then down. It was dark in all directions. The Doctor realized he was still attached to the mermaid at the lips and he pushed away. Instantly he felt the water pressure again pushing on him and the air burning up too fast in his lungs. The mermaid swam forward and again attached her lips to his, alleviating the burning feeling in his lungs. She glared at him and the Doctor understood: He was, effectively, her prisoner. She exhaled slowly, swimming backward until there was a long tube of air between them. The Doctor saw that her breasts were covered in finer scales, a few shades lighter than her tail, but the rest of her was dark skin. Finally she closed her mouth, creating an end to the long tube of air. The Doctor kept breathing through the stored air in the tube. The mermaid grabbed his hand and used her tail to propel them forward. When the Doctor tried to help, she glared at him. Evidently, mermaids were rather big on glaring. Eventually, the Doctor learned to simply float along like a doll, watching his air bubble grow smaller and smaller. When they reached a patch of water no different than the rest, the mermaid swam in the direction that turned out to be up. This was discovered when the Doctor's head broke the surface of the water. He gasped deeply, dog paddling to keep his head above water. The black-haired mermaid swam off with a splash. The Doctor looked around.

He was in a cave with undefinable height, though the walls were barely visible. The cave seemed to have a diameter of two football fields. The majority of the bottom of the cave consisted of water, althought the edges did have a few yards of "beach," consisting of algae-slicked stone. There was nothing on the beach except a throne consisting of smooth shells. The Doctor saw that the rest of the beach descended like stairs into the water. He abruptly realized he was in a receiving room. He swam to the edge, seating himself on the highest level of the benches, the rest going deeper and deeper into the water. He sat there not five minutes before the water seemed to boil with mermaids, some staying seated far below water and others sitting on the high seating like him, although they carefully kept their tails submerged. None of them said anything. The Doctor clapped his hands together,

"Alrighty, so this was just a great big misunderstanding because of some aliens. I really shouldn't be here. I'm just going to take off—" The mermaids just looked at him quizzically. The Doctor swam out into the middle of the cavern, then dived down. He didn't move his arms twice before the black-haired mermaid was back and grabbing his arm, dragging him back to the surface and throwing him into a seat none-too-gently. The Doctor held up his hands, "Fine, just thought I'd get out of your way." She opened her mouth and some kind of hideous shrieking escaped, though her angry expression made her point rather clear: he was to _stay put_.

There was suddenly the sound of a conch being sounded. Two young female mermaids, appearing no more than twelve or so, appeared on either side of the still-vacant throne and said something again the shrieking language. The TARDIS wasn’t translating, which was surprising the Doctor more than anything. It meant that no Time Lord had ever heard or translated it before. All of the mermaids seemed to lean back a bit from the calm pool in the middle of room, shooting excited looks at each other. Suddenly, the Doctor saw something red and blue appearing in the water below. All of the mermaids seemed to rejoice, a few clapping while others made a strange clicking sound in the back of their throat. The something, which quickly resolved into a mermaid, moved gracefully through the water until she reached the shell throne, at which point she lifted herself up and curled up in the chair. She wore an intricate seashell tiara which wet strands of her red hair was caught in. The rest cascaded over her face and down her torso, ending at her hips. As she tucked her feet to the side of the chair, the beautiful cerulean tail slowly melted into a pair of naked legs, starting at the waist and continuing down to the tips of the toes. The Doctor did his best to focus only on her knees and not an inch higher. She swept her long red hair to one side as she said in a frighteningly familiar voice,

“I’ll have to deal with my hair next time, won’t I?” There was good-natured laughter from the rest of the mermaids. The Doctor glanced up and saw her hair was pushed out of her face, giving him a clear view of her features. They stared at each other a moment before his face split into a grin,

“Donna!”

“Doctor!” she said, leaping from her throne. The moment Donna reached the water, her legs instantly transformed back into her long tail. She wrapped her arms around him and he hugged her back, both laughing. The rest of the mermaids were whispering amongst each other, more than a few shooting disbelieving looks at the hugging friends. His hands came up to cup her cheeks and tears slowly fell from his eyes,

“How are you alive?”

“Mermaids! Mermaids are real! I was in the water dying, no thanks to you—“ she smacked his arm and the Doctor rubbed at his arm, “when suddenly some mermaid was kissing me and poof! I had a tail and I could breathe! Mermaids!” She again drew him close for a hug before pulling back, “Why didn’t we ever go see mermaids?”

“I didn’t know they existed!” he said, unable to keep from laughing. Donna hugged him again, this time not letting go. The Doctor hugged her just as tightly as she hugged him, turning his nose to her neck. All of his senses said that she was real, but he couldn’t help itching for his sonic to truly assess the situation. It wouldn’t be the first time he was fooled. Finally, Donna leaned back. The Doctor, unwilling to let go of her, allowed his arms to move from around her shoulders to around her waist.

“How long have we been apart, for you?” asked Donna. The Doctor shook his head,

“Four, five years.”

“Wow. It’s only been two for me,” said Donna, shaking her head. The Doctor smiled, although he had lied. It had been almost ten years for him. He hadn’t truly realized the length of time until Donna asked. In the beginning he had counted each day, but eventually worlds needed saving and people needed defending. Then she had joined the rest of his lost companions: in the back of his mind, visited only in his darkest moments. But here she was, alive and well and—

“You’re the…what, queen of the mermaids?” he asked, looking around. Donna shook her head,

“Not really. I think it’s more of a goddess position. There’s a creation myth involved. I apparently am the spitting image of their One Goddess.”

“What?”

 Donna slid out of their hug and grabbed his hand, “C’mon, I’ll show you.” She pulled on him but the Doctor didn’t move,

“Donna,” she looked up at him, “no air.”

“Oh! Right. Um, alright. Did you see how Marina created your bubble?”

“Yes,” said the Doctor. Apparently Marina was the glaring black-haired mermaid. Donna nodded,

“Good. Come down under the water, we’re going to try that.” She had already sunk down, the water lapping just below her shoulder. The Doctor slid into the water, taking a deep breath before going down. Donna didn’t dither around, immediately planting her lips on his. They were soft, surprising considering the saltiness of the water. Softness was the only impression the Doctor could form before Donna had pulled back, creating the long tube of air. She closed it off and it again sprung around the Doctor’s head. She gave him a thumb’s up and he returned the gesture. Donna swam out of what was apparently the Atrium and once the Doctor’s eyes adjusted to the darkness, he realized she was leading him down a long, large hallway. He kept close, doing his best to keep up. Every now and again Donna would turn around to make sure he was still following. The Doctor kept his arms whirling, making sure to keep his uncertainty about water buried deep down.

Soon, they reached a mural. Donna turned and pointed at it. A mosaic of a mermaid who did indeed look a great deal like Donna was on the wall. The Doctor swam forward, studying it with fascination. His eyes followed the progression of the mural. It seemed to tell a story. It started with Donna, then somewhere some brown-haired bloke came into, though he didn’t have a tail. Donna and the man joined hands and—the mural was broken from there. With a start, the Doctor realized that the man was him. He turned to Donna in alarm and she shrugged. She pointed up and grabbed the Doctor’s hand, propelling them upward. There was a couple of feet of air at the top, which the Doctor gasped,

“It’s a creation myth! I think,” he said. Donna splashed up through the water beside him,

“Yeah, I figured that out. What does it mean? I mean, it’s you and me, but that’s all that I understand.”

“It’s a creation myth. Their idea of how mermaids came to be.”

“Well how’s that work out, if they’re here before I am?”

“Donna, you know how time is.”

“An absolute mess.”

“Wellll, not _normally_ , but—“

“Doctor, when has normal ever been a part of your travels?” Donna asked, giving him a skeptical look. The Doctor was brought up short by the familiarity of it. He had missed this, so much. He reached out to a tendril of Donna’s hair that was floating in the water, wrapping it around his fingers again and again. She watched his movements, saying nothing. He felt a kind of peace settle over her in that moment, the curiosity abated temporarily. He couldn’t stop smiling at her, and Donna wasn’t really sure what to do with that. It was strange. He had a different smile, one she saw so rarely. Donna reached up and tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear. The Doctor said quietly,

“I missed you.”

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone is interested in writing more of this on their own, cowriting this with me, or has any ideas of what happens next, let me know. I have some ideas, but I don't have the time to write them rn. I really like this premise, but I'm out of ambition right now. I've had this on my computer for two years at least and it's time for it to move on.
> 
> To come hang out or prompt me for stuff, come find me on Tumblr: buzz-cat.tumblr.com


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